Top 10: SW6 Stars

Ahead of Saturday’s SW6 derby, we take a look at 10 players who have adorned both blue and white in South West London, making almost 3,000 appearances for Fulham and Chelsea between them.

Roy Bentley (Chelsea 1948-56, Fulham 1956-60)

After beginning his career as an inside-forward, Bentley was converted to a more central role – to great effect – when he made the move to Stamford Bridge from Newcastle United in early 1948. Having scored for fun in the Chelsea team (his Blues record reads 367 games played, 150 goals scored) he ended up captaining the side to their first ever league title in 1955. He moved to Fulham a year later and, after hitting 14 goals in his debut campaign, found his position changed twice in two years: firstly to right-half, and then to centre-half. He excelled in both positions and helped the Whites to the FA Cup Semi-Final in 1958, before appearing 35 times the following season as we gained promotion to the top flight.

John Dempsey (Fulham 1965-69, Chelsea 1969-78)

A virtual ever-present in the Fulham team (he didn’t miss a game from September 1965 to April 1968), central defender Dempsey was one of the younger players in a side that boasted the likes of Johnny Haynes, Les Barrett and George Cohen. On occasion, he was trialled as a striker by Manager Vic Buckingham, most notably when he hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 victory over Northampton Town in the League Cup. Sold to our local rivals for £70,000 in January 1969, Dempsey went on to make more than 200 appearances for Chelsea in a trophy-laden spell that saw him collect an FA Cup winner’s medal and lift the UEFA European Cup Winners’ Cup, in which he scored in the Final against Real Madrid.

Clive Walker (Chelsea 1976-84, Fulham 1987-90)

An exciting and dangerous winger, Walker often found himself to be a shining light in mediocre Chelsea sides of the 70s and 80s. A scorer of often spectacular goals, his most important for the club came in the penultimate match of the 1982/83 season when he hit the winner against Bolton Wanderers which ultimately saved the Blues from relegation to the Third Division. After a spell with Sunderland, Walker returned to West London for a season at Queens Park Rangers, before joining Fulham in October 1987. He made a superb start to his Whites career with a brace on his debut in a 3-1 win over York City and was a regular in the team during his three seasons at Craven Cottage. After finishing his final campaign as top scorer, he departed for Brighton & Hove Albion in 1990 with 31 goals and 121 Fulham appearances to his name.

Ray Lewington (Chelsea 1974-79, Fulham 1980-85 & 1986-90)

While Lewington famously occupied what seemed like every role going at Fulham at one point or another, it was actually with our neighbours where he began his career, making the best part of 100 appearances for the Blues during his five-year stay at the Bridge. Spells in Canada and at Wimbledon followed before he joined the club where he’d go on to become a legend. The hard-working midfielder scored 24 times in his 276 appearances over two spells at Fulham, with his finest moment coming in 1982 when he helped his side win promotion to Division Two. He later managed Fulham in a variety of roles and is now assistant to England boss Roy Hodgson, having worked under him at Craven Cottage.

Teddy Maybank (Chelsea 1975-76, Fulham 1976-77 & 1979-80)

After making his debut as a teenager for Chelsea, Maybank was only a regular for one season at the club, when he grabbed five goals in 1975/76. He initially joined the Whites on loan in November 1976 and his three goals in four games impressed sufficiently to prompt a permanent transfer the following March. A popular man with the Fulham crowd, he formed a strong partnership up front with John Mitchell and his good form saw him move on to Brighton & Hove Albion in November 1977 for a £237,000 fee – a £172,000 profit for the Whites. He won promotion with the Seagulls but was back at the Cottage shortly after. However, this time he could only manage three goals in 19 appearances as we were relegated to Division Three.

Gordon Davies (Fulham 1977-84 & 1986-91, Chelsea 1984-85)

After setting the Cottage alight with 127 goals in little over six seasons, Davies was handed the opportunity to test himself in the top flight when Chelsea took advantage of stalling contract talks to nab the striker for a cut-price £90,000 fee. Competing with Kerry Dixon and David Speedie for a place in the side, Ivor found first-team football hard to come by at the Bridge, although he departed with a respectable record of six goals from his 15 appearances. After a brief stint in the blue side of Manchester, Davies returned home to continue his goalscoring exploits by the river, notching a further 51 times before joining Wrexham in 1991. He played 450 times in total for the Whites.

Paul Parker (Fulham 1981-87 & 1997, Chelsea 1997)

Having made his debut for Fulham just weeks after his 17th birthday, Parker went on to become one of the most exciting young defenders in the country. He gradually nailed down more appearances for the first team, before making the number two shirt his own at the start of the 1983/84 campaign. An athletic right-back, Fulham managed to retain his services until 1987 when he left for First Division Queens Park Rangers. He enjoyed success with England as they reached the Semi-Finals of Italia ’90, before winning the league with Manchester United following a multi-million pound transfer. He returned to the Cottage for a very brief spell in 1997 (taking his appearance total for the Whites to 186 in the process) before jumping up three divisions to make a handful of run-outs for Chelsea.

Bjarne Goldbaek (Chelsea 1998-00, Fulham 2000-03)

An old fashioned right-winger, Denmark international Goldbaek arrived at Chelsea less than a month after scoring against them at Stamford Bridge for Copenhagen in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. He went on to play more than 30 times in his debut campaign, scoring five times, although he struggled to secure a starting berth the following season and subsequently joined Fulham in January 2000. He settled quickly and became a regular in the side as we won promotion to the Premiership the following season. Goldbaek was used more as squad player during our time in the top flight and departed the Club in 2003 with more than 100 appearances to his name.

Damien Duff (Chelsea 2003-06, Fulham 2009-Present)

One of the first signings of the Roman Abramovich era, Duff enjoyed phenomenal success at Chelsea following his £17m transfer from Blackburn Rovers. The winger played 37 times and scored six goals (including a winner against Fulham) in his debut campaign as the Blues finished second in the league. Jose Mourinho was then appointed in the summer of 2004, with the new manager opting to play Duff in a front three alongside new signings Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben. The trio were in devastating form as Chelsea won the Premier League title for the first time, in addition to the League Cup. Duff picked up a second title winner’s medal before departing for Newcastle United in 2006, with a move to Fulham emanating following the Magpies’ relegation in 2009. His first campaign was arguably Fulham’s most successful ever as we reached the UEFA Europa League Final, with Duff playing in 14 of our 19 matches in the competition. Still going strong at the age of 34, the Irishman made his 150th appearance for the Club last season.

Steve Sidwell (Chelsea 2007-08, Fulham 2011-Present)

After impressing at the heart of Reading’s midfield for a number of years, Sidwell made the move to Chelsea on a free transfer following the expiry of his Royals contract. Competing with the likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Michael Ballack for a first team berth, Sidwell still accumulated 25 appearances for the Blues in his solitary season at the club, including a run-out in the Champions League against Valencia. However, he was sold to Aston Villa in the summer of 2008, before arriving at Fulham – initially on loan – two and a half years later. He quickly became an integral part of the Whites engine room, although a serious injury midway through the 2011/12 campaign curtailed his progress. He showed a great mentality to recover, though, and now boasts a record of 10 goals from 76 Fulham games.